When analyzing the detainees’ potential for being harmed if they are removed, he pointed to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, noting that he still has not been returned to U.S. custody despite a Supreme Court ruling directing the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return.

The ruling, applying only to detainees held in western Pennsylvania, is the first to uphold the president’s invocation of the wartime act. But it requires that detainees be given 21 days’ notice.

A federal court in New York has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's deportation efforts under the Alien Enemies Act, finding that there is no present "war," "invasion," or "predatory incursion" as required by the statute.